


Halcyon

by JamtheDingus



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Parents, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Multi, Parenthood, Short & Sweet, Snippets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-11
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-01 00:51:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12693645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamtheDingus/pseuds/JamtheDingus
Summary: halcyon - a period of time that is idyllically happy and peaceful.A collection of short stories in which Shiro, Keith, and Hunk go about their daily lives and tug their daughter along, too.---AU by @ace-pidge on tumblr!





	1. Musings

**Author's Note:**

> This is technically a sequel I guess? to the fic I wrote for sedna on her birthday! :'D go check out her tumblr [@ace-pidge](https://ace-pidge.tumblr.com)!
> 
>  
> 
> tagged complete bc each snippet is pretty self-containing! however i may always come back and add a couple more someday if the urge ever hits! <3

Keith scrubbed past the bubbles on his arms, bottom lip sucked between his teeth in concentration. Warm water splashed as high as his elbows, soaking his shirt and the counter with the waves he created.

Hunk passed by to press a kiss against the nape of his exposed neck, his ponytail having been tied up and out of the way at the apex of his skull. His nose scrunched up at the tickle, and he splashed Hunk with a few suds, catching a nearby Shiro in the process.

Shiro leaned away, a startled laugh escaping into his coffee. Steamy hazelnut flooded his nose, and he cracked a smile as he regarded the two of them.

Hunk with one hand flipped a pancake, revealing the perfectly golden browned side and, with his other, tickled underneath Serena’s chin where she was cradled against his chest. Her baby carrier, strapped against his belly, was stuffed full of soft blankets to keep her warm (because she had cold veins and bad circulation, just like Shiro did) and she drowned in fleece as she gurgled and squealed at the feeling.

With a soft, content sigh, he cupped his thermos closer and pressed it against his chin. Warmth spread across his skin and his bones felt settled, for once. “When did we get so domestic?”

The background noise halted for a second at the question, but Keith was back scrubbing at a rust-stained crockpot before Shiro could blink next.

“Babe, we’re human beings. We’ve been domestic for thousands of years.” Hunk said, half-distracted.

Shiro didn’t know why that was such a comfort— why the question had even slipped from his tongue— but he accepted it all the same.


	2. Seeking

Hunk burst through the front door, more to get out of the cold as soon as possible than to be dramatic. His husbands must have turned on all of the heaters and the air conditioning in the house, because the warmth washed over him and soaked into him so quickly that it left a pleasant tingle vibrating through his skin.

He shed his layers until he was left in his pants and comfy sweater. He also made sure to neatly stack his shoes near the door, right next to the other two pair in the corner. Serena wasn’t old enough to need her shoes by the door, but she was getting there faster than Hunk had ever imagined.

Hunk rolled his shoulder as he wandered further into the house. It hurt more than not these days, but that was nothing new. Ever since he’d been injured on the job, his muscles liked to tense up whenever the wind blew sideways. It especially acted up in the cold weather, though, and he’d have to make sure to stretch it better in the mornings and before bed. Maybe he and Shiro could do it together.

His family wasn’t anywhere to be found in the living room, dining room, or kitchen, so Hunk assumed they were all napping in the bedroom. They still couldn’t bring themselves to leave Serena alone in her room yet, so he didn’t even bother heading down that direction in the hall.

And, as he expected, his family was cuddled up close as they dozed in the toasty air that spread to their core.

Serena was nestled comfortable between her fathers, mostly buried against Shiro’s chest. The two of them had formed a barrier with their hands against her back, to keep her secure in case she tried to roll this way and that. Her chubby cheeks smooshed against the mattress, and when Hunk leaned down to press a kiss against his forehead, he saw her drooling into the sheets.

Keith and Shiro hardly stirred at his presence, and Hunk quietly tip-toed the way he came. They must have been dead tired to sleep in the middle of the day. It was something they rarely did.

He kept the door cracked, just in case, and wandered back towards the living room.

His fuzzy socks made a soft sound that always made Hunk’s brain tingle when he heard it as he crossed the floor to their patio. His palm pressed against the cold glass, and he yawned so hard that tears pricked at the edge of his vision.

On second thought— maybe he’d join the three on their impromptu nap. 


	3. Firefly

“I still can’t believe you bought that.” 

Keith sat in the backyard, legs crossed as he watched Hunk strum away at his second-hand guitar. They’d seen it in the window of a pawnshop earlier that morning, and Keith barely even noticed the thing— but Hunk was obsessed with the quaint little thing. The wood was painted a pastel pink, and was discolored in quite a few places, probably from oily hands. 

He’d had to buy new strings for it, and Keith had snuck a few colorful picks in the basket, too, just because Hunk had dragged him along for the ride to the music store. 

He strummed a few chords, shrugging his shoulder distractedly. “It was calling to me.”

Between their legs, Serena sat wrapped up in far too many layers than necessary for the spring breeze. She didn’t seem to care much, though, as she reached for the music notes that floated through the air, visible in a way that only a baby could see. 

Keith held his hands on her waist to keep her steady as she tried to climb him like a jungle gym. She made it to her destination though; his shoulders, to get as high of a vantage point as she could while they were sitting on the ground.  

Hunk hummed a melody, and Serena gurgled along with it, as if she knew the words. _ “— You can’t take the sky from me.”  _

“That show is so old.” Keith rolled his eyes, though he did grin as Hunk continued to hum the words, strumming along with an ease that Keith wasn’t sure was natural or practiced. Serena bounced excitedly, and Keith tucked his legs underneath him so he could held her balance by letting her grip her tiny fingers against his palms. 

Like this, he helped her to dance, and Hunk leaned over to rub his nose against hers in an eskimo kiss. 

_ “There’s no place I can be, since I found Serena-ty.” _ He sang, and the end lilted up in tone as he laughed. 

Keith dipped forward to kiss him while he was distracted, and the guitar faded off, reverbing through the wood and against their bodies until they were eventually interrupted by their daughter again. 

They gathered her up, and Hunk hooked the guitar under his arm so he could hug Keith around his waist with one hand. “You think Shiro would appreciate my new lyrics?”

“He’d love them even if you got the order wrong.” Keith said, half-distracted as he unwrapped Serena. “Especially the freedom part.”

(Hours later, after Shiro wandered home after a long day of being an adult and sitting through long, listing meetings, they tugged him into the study for a little concert. And yes— he absolutely did love the song, even though Keith  _ did  _ mix up the lyrics a little bit.)


	4. Grounding

The old car sputtered to a stop in their garage, and Shiro wondered for the hundredth time that month why they didn't just replace it.

As he placed the car in park, the door to the garage the led to the house opened up, and a bright smile greeted him from the doorway. Fluorescent yellow light framed Hunk's face from behind him, and he could see the faint shadows passing back and forth of Keith moving around the laundry room, and Shiro could already smell the detergent before he even opened the car door.

Because Hunk liked to work on it in his spare time— was why they didn't replace the old thing. Shiro stepped out, nearly hitting his head on the hanging tennis ball on a string, and he plucked the line with his finger to listen to it make a dull 'thunk' against the windshield.

As he stepped closer, Hunk greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. "Hey."

"Evenin'." Shiro hummed, eyes drifting shut as he let the cozy, domestic air wash away the stress of work from his skin.

In the laundry room, which acted as a connector from their garage to the rest of their house, Keith was picking lint from the filter as Serena napped in her carrier against his back. She had on her soft, knitted cap and Shiro could make out the cat socks on her feet, when Keith moved in a certain direction.

Hunk wandered back into the washroom as Shiro flipped his coat off and hung it against his arm. He hoisted up a laundry basket, full of clean clothes that needed to be folded, and he also gave Keith a kiss against the cheek as he passed by towards the living room.

"Welcome home." Keith said, as soon as he noticed Shiro lingering in the doorway. Serena stirred at the reverberation that tracked through his chest, but otherwise stayed in the exact same position. She was always so sleepy that Shiro often worried for her health, but the doctors said that she was perfectly healthy every time they visited for a check up. He supposed that his worries just came with being a parent.

"Thanks. Are you hungry?" Shiro, careful of the baby on his back, wrapped an arm around Keith and pressed a delicate kiss against his forehead. "We can order take-out."

"Hunk's been craving stir-fry. I'll come out and look at the menu in a bit."

Shiro leaned down to kiss Serena's chubby cheeks, and her eyes cracked open to peek at him before he pulled away. Her fist balled up against Keith's back, and she smacked her lips together once before she hid her face against Keith's shirt.

"Need any help in here?" Shiro glanced around, but the room looked clean. As clean as a laundry room could get, at least.

"I'm good." He said— and that was that. Shiro wandered towards the living room, carrying his dress shoes in one hand and his jacket in the other. He passed by Hunk folding clothes on the couch as he flipped through channels, and he paused to stretch his shoulder before he bent over to neatly arrange his shoes next to the others.

When he turned around again, unbuttoning a few buttons of his shirt, Hunk was watching him with a sympathetic look on his face. "Long day?"

"Just a little sore."

He'd gone to his therapist (something his  _ physical _ therapist had recommended a long time ago) and, after a brief session of brain picking, visited his office at his job. They didn't usually need him on site unless he was going to be flying their jets, but he vaguely remembered Allura texting him about a new model coming in, and he wanted to check it out.

He'd just barely resisted the temptation of flying it— despite the fact it was completely untested— but he  _ had _ flown his old ride for a few hours, which left his arm a bit worse for wear. It had been a long while coming since he'd last flown a plane, and his arm throbbed under his prosthesis in protest.

He should definitely go and grab a cold compress, but he flopped onto the couch instead and rested his head against Hunk's shoulder, passing him a take-out menu he'd snagged from the end table.

"You okay?" He looked up, and Hunk dropped the mismatched socks back into the basket to turn to his husband.

Shiro nodded his head. "I'm okay." Which was true. He just wanted to indulge in a little cuddling for a while, without directly asking for it. Was that so bad?

Hunk didn't prod him for answers though, and instead gave him exactly what he wanted. He opened his arms and wrapped them around Shiro's back, squeezing him firmly— but not too tightly. The perfect amount to keep him grounded and make him feel secure in his own body. Hunk was soft in most places, and firm in others, and Shiro never tired of the way it felt to be held by him.

Shiro let his hands trail down the curve of Hunk's spine, and a soft shiver trailed back up its wake. A warm hand splayed against his own back, and his heart swelled as the heat spread directly to it, warming him up from the inside out in more ways than one.

When they pulled away Shiro felt lighter in his belly, and a smile easily grew onto his lips.

Keith chose then to amble in, dust lining the bangs that framed his face. The two shared a meaningful look, and Shiro gestured him forward to pick the dirt away.

The entire while— long after they'd eaten dinner in the form of take-out Thai and began to get ready for bed— Shiro's chest stayed unfurled and light. It was incredible what a good hug could do. 


	5. Haze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serena gets sick, and it's only Keith there to take care of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this came out completely differently from what i expected but im happy with it! c': papa keith is a good dad no matter what he thinks

The thermometer beeped, and Keith had to take a moment to steel himself before he looked at the reading.

Only to release a hissed breath as the numbers blinked back at him. Serena had a mild fever, and it was only Keith at home to take care of her. Both Shiro and Hunk had been invited on a conference— and Keith had, of course, been invited to come too, but he adamantly refused to leave Serena with a sitter.

"Shiro is the better pilot of the two of us." He'd said. "Plus, he has the whole... smiling thing."

Hunk had quirked a brow at him, in the way the Keith knew he found what had been said funny, but didn't want to smile at it because he was being serious.

"We'll be fine." He promised, like an idiot. "Call me when you land."

He wasn't upset at his decision. Thank _god_ it was him, and not some teenager taking care of a sick baby. He was already kind of panicking internally, though he desperately tried not to let Serena notice. Shiro always told him that babies were sensitive to emotions, and he didn't need her upset on top of being sick with a fever.

He'd first noticed something was wrong when she refused to eat a bottle. He'd thought she'd felt a little warm then, but he blamed it on the air conditioner and had taken her onesie off to exchange for some looser pajamas.

He'd noticed something was _wrong_ when she started crying and wouldn't stop.

That had been hours ago, and Keith would be lying if he said he wasn't worried. Actually— he was downright terrified.

Outside of a window in the kitchen that Hunk decorated with bright yellow curtains and flower pots filled with synthetic plants that had encouraging reminders on them instead of something actually made of chlorophyll, snowflakes frosted against the windowsill and bathed the entire glass in a foreboding blue.

The entire time, Keith had been trying to phone for the doctor, Shiro, or Hunk. Hell, he even tried Lance or Pidge, to see if they could pick him up some medicine or _something_ , but his service was completely nonexistent. That last thing had been a crap plan anyway, though, with how much snow was piling outside of the doors.

It would be hell to shovel away, but that was the last thing on his mind.

There was no way he'd be able to trudge through the snow banks with a sick baby. No matter how tight he'd bundle her, she'd probably be frozen stiff by the time he even got to the hospital. But he stored that thought in the very back of his mind, just in case.

He also couldn't just leave her in the home by herself while he ran out to get help— either to the drugstore or to kidnap a pediatrician. That was _much_ too dangerous.

So, instead, he scrounged the house for as many baby books as he could find. Shiro had stocked up on them as soon as they first _mentioned_ adopting, and Hunk had finished the collection off with whatever books he'd found at both the local pawn shop, off of friends, and even while browsing online.

Keith had gladly let all of those purchases fall on their laps instead of his. He focused more on the furniture, the setup of her room; baby-proofing the house. Those were solid things he could touch to keep his hands busy instead of wringing them nervously or biting his fingernails (a habit both Hunk and Shiro, respectively, had picked up after a while).

He didn't dare grab Serena and drag her all over the house. There were drafts that could be deadly. And the bookcase was especially wobbly ever since the wood had warped underneath it. They'd never gotten that fixed yet, and he didn't need her to be crushed on top of having a fever.

So he made sure to take one book at a time and jog back to the nursery, scouring the pages for whatever he needed. Inevitably, the pages spoke back to him nothing to help his situation, and he threw it on the ground with the rest until a pile of cracked spines and crumpled pages claimed the corner as its own.

Serena was fussing in her crib, gripping at the curve of her ear, and Keith's heart sunk. If she had an ear infection, he absolutely couldn't just let it _sit._

 

\---

 

About an hour later, after shining a flashlight down her ear canal and trudging through every single page of every single baby book they owned, Keith found himself pacing up and down the hall, cradling her against the curve of his shoulder as he tried to calm her enough to go to sleep.

It was the middle of the night— but it had been the middle of the night when this mess had first started. Her tiny fists clung to his shirts, wrinkling the fabric so much that she could probably tear a hole in it if she tried hard enough. It was _Shiro's_ shirt, actually.

The information swirled around his head in a mish-mash of advice sprinkled with the same phrase, 'Always take your little one to the doctor if you're not sure what to do.'

That gnawed at his gut until it felt raw, and he started reading every book all over again, until he came up with a plan.

In one moment of desperation, he checked his phone again. And there, in the corner of the screen—  flickering in and out like heaven's gate was opening and closing right in front of him—  were the bars of his cellular service.

He jerked forward, startling Serena so much that her cries warbled and fell quiet for just one moment before they started again, and flew through his contacts until the letter 'L' popped out at him.

The phone didn't ring for the first few seconds, and Keith squeezed the phone so tight against his grip he was sure the glass would crack.

Then, like a miracle, it rang exactly three times before he connected to the other side, and the rustle of clothing could be heard. A distracted laugh sounded in the background, and Keith spoke before the receiver could even begin to greet him.

"Serena is sick with a fever, and she won't stop crying. She might have an ear infection, but I have no clue at this point— and our front door and garage are snowed in."

Then, he took a breath, and realized that his voice had been shaking. Tears burned hot against the corner of his eyes, like bitter acid, and he could say that, until this moment in time, he'd never felt so _useless_ before.

"Slow down, cowboy." He heard Lance say, who had obviously been startled by the sudden spiel as he shushed the commotion around him. The noise that Keith had immediately tuned out in the background clicked off, and _that_ made Keith realize the time.

"Were you in the middle of a movie with Pidge?"

"Don't worry about that." Lance waved him off, and he sounded further away. Probably put him on speaker. "You said your little chickadee was sick? How bad was the fever?"

"Mild. It might be higher by now, but I don't know."

Lance tsked, but it was more distracted than irritated. He could hear the clack of a keyboard in the distance, and he squinted his eyes at his coverage. It was holding at one bar for now, and he sent a quick prayer up to whoever was listening that it would hold for as long as he needed.

"Pidge, this desk is disgusting." He heard Lance say, and Pidge, who sounded much closer to the phone than him, blew a raspberry in his general direction. Keith knew it was her, too, because she did that snorting laugh afterwards that she only had when she was mildly drunk.

"Alright, Bad Hair Day." Lance said, addressing Keith. "Here's what you have to do."

 

\---

 

The bathroom tile was freezing against his toes, and he muttered a curse as he kicked the fluffy, white carpet over to the tub to stand on while he waited for the water to warm up before he flipped on the showerhead.

"Humidity." Lance had told him. "She's probably congested, right? All of that pressure is hurting her head. Don't worry about the fever unless it gets higher."

He'd also suggested that, if it _did_ start getting higher, he take a lukewarm bath with her, and Keith made sure to stick the thermometer close by as he waited for the steam to fill the room.

Serena had calmed a bit after his phone call, and had dissolved to whimpering, throaty mewls that made Keith's heart ache in his chest. Lance had also said her lungs sounded fine, after listening to her cry for the five minutes it took for him to find the right information on Pidge's computer and get it to load up. Keith was just glad that she'd had an internet connection at all.

They promised that, as soon as the storm stopped and they clawed one of their cars from the snow, they would be over with medicine and anything he needed.

He just had to last until morning. The snow plows would sweep by his house early, probably before the sun had begun to rise. Just a few more hours.

He clung to that with all his might, and steeled himself. Just a few more hours.

 

\---

 

The water ran cold under his fingers, and the thick fog of steam that had built up had begun to dissipate and turn just as icy as the bathroom was before he'd entered.

Serena, who had finally— _finally_ stopped crying and began to doze, snuffled against his shoulder. He could tell by the way her feet kicked against his thighs that she would soon be crying again as her nose stuffed up, and Keith shushed her as best he could.

He'd _also_ been half-asleep, and the only reason he had noticed the temperature change is because he'd left one of his hands under the spray— just for this reason.

Where else could he get steam, though? The kitchen sink, maybe, but he would have to upend Serena over the water to let it swirl around her, and he could guarantee that she wouldn't like that one bit.

He was so tired.

Keith dug his fingers into his forehead, raking them down to wipe the sluggishness from his brain.

Serena kicked once more, and Keith curled around her even tighter.

Then, all at once, it hit him. They had a humidifier in the garage somewhere, that Hunk had fixed up and been meaning to give to Lance for months now. Apparently the steam was _wonderful_ for the skin, but he'd just never gotten around to picking it up, and Hunk had stored it in the back corner, behind a dozen boxes of old knick-knacks that they'd never unpacked after moving from their old, ratty apartments.

He had one more shot.

 

\---

 

Something Keith had learned forever ago— probably before he'd ever been born— was that things never came easy. They took work, or they were too good to be true.

He had been proved wrong many times, but the most noticeable were the most recent. He met Shiro first, forever ago. And then he met the rest of their friends, and then he met Hunk. And that friendship— that kindness and love that he'd been shown from all of them and given as much as he could in return— came so easily to him with those people that it was almost natural.

And then, tonight, as the snow clung to the windows like cold demons trying to break in and ruin the happy little family he'd worked so hard to keep and cherish, he found the humidifier. Sitting right in plain sight, on top of a shelf and exactly two feet from a puddle of water that had leaked in through the window and froze on the garage floor.

It had been so easy to find. Completely undamaged.

In working order.

Keith almost cried again that night.

He plopped down again, in the guest bathroom with Serena because it was the smallest room in their house, and would hold all the steam she needed for as long as it took to soak through the towels he stuffed under the door.

In one arm, he had her nestled in the crook of his elbow, swaddled in soft like a queen would be bathed in silk. With his free hand, he filled the tiny little machine with as much water as it could hold, and watched as it puffed a few test shots of air  to clear the filter. Then, a dull hum filled the room, as the water began to heat.

He crawled into the corner, sitting cross-legged so that she could rest comfortably in the space it created. She blearily blinked up at him, tired and sickly, and almost pleading.

Keith tucked the tips of her ears into the tiny cap that covered the soft tufts of hair on her head, and leaned down to press a kiss against her forehead.

His phone was half-charged where it was shoved under his thigh, and he checked the time. Almost five in the morning.

The steam filled the tiny room quickly, blurring his vision with wisps of white and burning faint tickles of heat against his skin.

First, Serena fell asleep. And then, as Keith leaned his head back and let his eyes drift shut, the rumble of a snow plow clearing its way through the streets of his neighborhood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love writing keith?? i generally only write hunk-centered fics (which you can probably tell from the first four chapters) but keith is kinda (very) different from me and its just FUN to write him
> 
> <3 hope yall enjoyed!


	6. Useful

Shiro forced down the exasperated tremble that rattled his bones as he dug behind the refrigerator for the broom. Exhaustion blotted his vision as he dropped the plastic dust pan at his feet and kicked it in place.

Shattered ceramic glass littered the floor, and Serena made a noise from her carrier that Shiro wanted to believe was of some sort of comforting tone.

He was… dreadfully tired. It was early morning, and he’d barely been able to sleep at all. Nightmares— plus his arm just would not stop throbbing in pain every time his heart beat.

So, he decided to make himself useful by turning off the alarms they used to feed Serena on time, instead doing it himself to let his husbands sleep in. And he’d done that well enough, making sure to heat the bottle to the perfect temperature and let her eat only what she wanted without forcing it down her throat. He had burped her perfectly, gently, and left her in his line of sight as he fixed himself a strong pot of coffee. The caffeine would help clear his mind, and maybe he would get enough energy to do something productive and ignore his pain long enough for it to fade.

And then he dropped his favorite mug. The one that Keith had bought him years ago that was chipping around the handle from overuse (rather, had been before he’d dropped it) and had a dorky space pun on it that he couldn’t even remember now that it was gone.

God, he was tired.

The noise must have been louder than he’d thought, because the worried stamp of feet rushed down the hall, and two heads peaked at him from around the corner.

“Shiro?”

Shiro didn't respond and instead hurried to sweep up the broken pieces before the glass hurt someone.

He misses the worried look Hunk sends Keith way, only to have it echoed back at him. Shiro had worrying bags under his eyes, not to mention how bloodshot they were. And he held himself in that way he did when his shoulder was hurting, but he didn't want to think about the pain of it.

Serena was oddly quiet in her carrier, probably scared stiff from the sudden noise. Hunk gathered her up as he and Keith walked in, the latter stealing the broom from Shiro’s fingers.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbles, and he holds onto the broom handle tight for a moment before he lets it go, and Keith is off to clean up the mess he made. Shiro barely even watches where he steps as he stumbles back , but Hunk is there to brush the ceramic shards away with his sock-covered toes.

He finds himself being ushered into their recliner, and he flops down into so hard that it squeals in protest.

“Can you hold Serena for me?” Hunk asks, kneeling down in front of him. His palm brushes across Shiro’s thigh, more to get his attention than anything— but it helps him feel like more of a person anyway.

“Yeah.” Shiro looks at them— his husband and daughter, and hears their third slaving away in the kitchen to pick up the tiny shards Shiro had smashed all over the place— and he clenches his fist. He takes a deep breath, eyes shutting for a moment. Hunk squeezes him, and Shiro nods his head. “Yeah.”

Serena is placed in his lap, and he forces himself to be steady because if he drops her—

He _won’t_ drop her.

Shiro closes his eyes again and focuses on their child. His hand is big enough to completely cover her back, and she relaxes in the familiar hold. Her head dips forward to rest against his stomach, because that’s as high as she can reach, and he trails his fingers through the curly patch of growing hair at the top of her head. Her tiny fingers tangle in his ratty t-shirt, and he’s so focused on feeling her that he doesn’t realize his significant others have returned until there’s a blanket being tucked around him and a pillow stuffed behind his head.

“You guys don’t have to.” He tries, but Keith side eyes him— fluffing the pillow to make a point. Hunk retreats into the foyer, slipping on a pair of sandals to run the garbage full of shrapnel out to the curb before the garbage trucks come.

Keith doesn’t say anything, just tucks a sweaty lock of hair from Shiro’s forehead and squeezes his shoulder. Then he finds himself a spot on the couch and hooks his hands behind his head, eyes fluttering closed for an early-morning nap.

Serena drools against his stomach. Shiro wipes away the mess on her chin with the bottom of his shirt, mostly out of habit, and he reclines back in the plush chair.

The morning still feels heavy— his arm feels heavier— but he won’t drop her. It’ll get better, he tells himself. It always does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i could not for the life of me figure out a good way to end this c':
> 
> just know that hunk and keith and serena take good care of shiro, forever and always


End file.
